Providence Bound

Seven tickets in hand, tomorrow we’ll head down 95 to The Dunk for an afternoon match-up between the Providence Bruins and Manchester Monarchs. Turns out, happily, that I won’t be the only strapping young lad making that journey this weekend.

Brad Marchand and Trent Whitfield, after he clears waivers, have both been sent down to the P-Bruins as Milan Lucic and Marc Savard become healthy and available to the big club. Both of them, Marchand in his first NHL action, and Whitfield a more seasoned veteran, played fairly well in the roles given them in Boston. Marchand, however, certainly showed some growing pains, notably as he learns how to best harness his chippy style and not take bad penalties.

More than that, however, I find out that the P-Bruins have signed old friend Dan LaCouture to a PTO. He is, of course, a fairly well known name in the area having spent time in both Providence and Boston. A native of Hyannis, MA, he also spent his college career in beantown playing for Boston University. Known for a scrappy, high energy style, he’ll certainly provide some veteran leadership to the team as well, now 32 years old and a soldier in 13 professional seasons stretching from Hamilton of the AHL to Barys Astana in Kazakhstan of the KHL.

This is all good news for fans of the AHL’s Rhode Island representatives. They will need all the help they can get having a scheduled three games in three nights at The Dunk, Friday’s 5-2 victory over the Springfield Falcons, tonight’s match-up against the Worcester Sharks and then the finale against Manchester that we’ll see tomorrow.

All of this goes towards my vow to see more minor league hockey this season. I really have no excuse when you consider how centrally located I am to so many AHL team’s with an easy driving radius. Northward I can reach Portland and Manchester, in Maine and New Hampshire respectively, without a lengthy trip and Lowell before I get to the border of either. Westward Worcester is less than an hour and, if I’m feeling like travelling, Springfield which is at least two depending on how much you want to dare the Staties. Southward there is, of course, Providence but Hartford is also within reach. Cheap tickets and refreshments, good quality hockey. The only real cost is gas, the only real impediment available time.

I have no excuse, truly.

Look for a full report on the game sometime tomorrow night.

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This entry was posted on November 21, 2009 at 8:21 pm and is filed under AHL, Providence Bruins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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2 Responses to “Providence Bound”

I hope to get to my 4th Chicago Wolves game this season on Sun, and a lot more after that (though to some extent it’s to see the different teams they play; Wolves weren’t doing so great). I wish I could see Rockford games since they’re the Hawks affiliate, but I just can’t get there without a car. Milwaukee team in Dec., probably.

I’m envious of anyone with that many teams nearby! I visited Lowell, Worcester, and Providence for the first time this year but not during hockey season. I’m hoping for a spring east coast hockey trip; I’d definitely check out P-Bruins. A friend goes to a lot of their games…and I have to admit getting to be in an arena named after donuts is part of the appeal for me.

Y’know, considering the astonishing, near grotesque, amount of coffee and donuts I’ve purchased and consumed from the ol’ D & D Lounge over the years (I’m sitting with a large regular and a blueberry cake in my belly as I type this fer chrissakes) I should probably be given a lifetime pass to the place.

Or at the very least they should foot the bill for my inevitable triple bypass.